by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

by Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports

KANSAS CITY, Mo. â?? Bob Sutton has a simple message for any player griping about the NFL's ever-evolving rules on illegal hits.

"You can complain all you want, (but) you better adjust," the Kansas City Chiefs' defensive coordinator said on Wednesday, "because that's how the game's getting called."

The NFL's player and health safety initiatives have expanded protection in recent years for everyone from defenseless receivers to tacklers in the open field.

According to gamebooks analyzed by USA TODAY Sports, the first full week of preseason games yielded 25 major penalties â?? personal fouls, unnecessary roughness, etc. -- and 15 of those players were fined a total of $159,625.

One play in Week 2 that didn't draw a flag was a hit by Chicago Bears linebacker Jon Bostic, whose teammate, Lance Briggs, tweeted on Wednesday that the rookie was fined $21,000 for what Briggs considered a "clean hit" on San Diego Chargers receiver Mike Willie.

Replays showed Bostic may have hit Willie in the head/neck area. Flag or no flag, the fine means there's a good chance that play will be shown at some point in the Chiefs' defensive meeting room.

"We try to show them all the time," Sutton said. "I think the players overall, across the league, are trying to adjust and adapt to the way the rules are being enforced. They're part of the game, and it's really not important whether you agree or don't agree â?? this is how they're called.

"One of the things we tell our players all the time: In any game, some officials are going to be tighter than others. Not just in regards to the hits, but in anything, from (pass interference) to holding to whatever. â?¦ You've got to figure that out quickly as the game goes on â?? what way are they tilted a little bit this week?

"The officials try like heck to stay consistent. But every group has a little different way they enforce the rule. It's tilted a little bit more this way on this group and less on that. So, you've got to adjust to that."